1. Field of the Invention
A battery pack including a battery gauge.
2. Description of the Related Art
Portable electronic devices, such as notebook computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), cellular phones, and digital cameras, receive power from rechargeable battery packs. Since the discharge time of a battery pack is limited, a battery discharge level is displayed through a display of an electronic device. As is well known in the art, a battery discharge level is expressed as a bar shape that is proportional in length to the battery discharge level of a battery pack. Thus, a user is informed of a battery discharge level of a battery pack based on the length of a bar displayed on a display of an electronic device.
However, a battery discharge level of a battery pack can be detected only when the battery pack is installed on an electronic device. That is, when a battery pack is removed from an electronic device or when the electronic device is turned off, it is difficult to detect the battery discharge level of the battery pack.
To address this limitation, a battery gauge including a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs) and a display unit is provided to a battery pack to display a battery discharge level corresponding to the number of on-state LEDs even when the battery pack is removed from an electronic device.
The above information disclosed in this Related Art section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known to a person of ordinary skill in the art.